MOUNT VERNON — The few steps a police officer takes while approaching a car at a traffic stop must be properly executed.
If they’re not, the long list of potential safety hazards only grow for the officer, people in the car and others who may be nearby.
Combine that with what Lt. Rex Young of the Mount Vernon Police Department described as an increase in “confrontational and non-compliant behavior in some encounters,” and the reason for traffic-stop training is obvious.
MVPD recently hosted at Heartland Commerce Park about 60 law enforcement officers from MVPD, the Knox County Sheriff’s Office, Fredericktown, Danville, Johnstown and Loudonville to train on traffic stops.
“We use a 360-degree training model in which officers rotate through the roles of officer, citizen and observer to gain a complete understanding of interactions from every perspective,” Young said.
“Including outside officers allows our trainers to create more realistic, diverse scenarios that help our officers experience the full range of encounters they may face on duty,” he said.
This training isn’t the only session MVPD has done and is part of a larger effort to keep officers performing at a high level while keeping themselves and the people they serve safe.
The recent training model had four stations simulating different conditions an officer may encounter during a traffic stop.
Station one
The first station prioritized early detection and used a pair of glasses and sensors to monitor specific patterns exhibited by the officers.
“Officers refined their visual scan patterns using biometric devices that tracked eye movement and stress levels,” Young said. “Officers also experienced stops from the viewpoint of the driver or attacker so they could better understand vulnerabilities and effective responses.”
An instructor told the officer how to approach a parked vehicle; using mainly vision, the officer would then try to lock onto parts of the car with the most information.
This station also tested reaction time as the officer was looking for an instructor to raise a training firearm, which then caused the officer to fire a few blanks from a training gun.
Young or another instructor would then break down the few-minute-long recording with the officer to see exactly how long it took them to see a possible threat and to react to it.
Stations 2, 3 & 4
Stations two and three combined several different scenarios that changed overtime.
Meaning, the simulated traffic stop started safely, but took a turn for several different reasons, and the officer needed to position himself or herself in the right place to react appropriately.
“The second and third phases concentrated on managing rapidly changing situations and on techniques that prioritize officer and public safety,” Young said.
“These stations focus on decision-making, tactics, and options that discourage aggression and reduce the likelihood of escalation.”
At the fourth station, officers focused on similar de-escalation techniques, but also took it a step forward by practicing different ways to restrain a weapon during a stop while the driver is in the vehicle.
“The fourth phase focused on control and de-escalation at the vehicle, emphasizing safe communication, restraint techniques, and strategies to reduce variables in high-stress encounters,” Young said.
Putting it into practice and general traffic stop safety
After all the stations, the training officer would ride as a passenger in an MVPD cruiser and conduct a realistic traffic stop.
The instructor driving the car being stopped would stop and go, not turn the vehicle off, move awkwardly with the officer at the window and use other tactics to test the officer’s reactions.
“Safety, judgement and control” were the main things Young wanted to see the officer do well during the full traffic-stop drill.
By running different stations and a semi-unpredictable full traffic stop at the end, the idea is to make the unpredictable more predictable when officers are out on the road in real life.
“Traffic stops remain one of the most unpredictable and hazardous duties in law enforcement,” Young said.
“The priority is to protect our officers and the public by preventing violence and resolving encounters safely.”
At the end of the day, Young said he just wants his community to be safer for everyone in it, and if the training sessions he helps lead can better ensure that, even better.
“We remain committed to building positive relationships with our community, and realistic, high-quality training is how we ensure the best possible outcomes and that our officers can perform their duties and return home safely at the end of every shift,” Young said.
Below are a few photos from the training session on Oct. 30. Credit: Jack Slemenda
